It’s with genuine sadness that I report on Iron Lore’s closing. Founded in 2000 by Brian Sullivan (co-creator of the Age of Empire series) and Paul Chieffo, Iron Lore’s first game, Titan Quest, was the first action RPG to rise out of Diablo 2’s all-encompassing shadow. The game saw players battling hordes of mythical creatures across ancient Greece, Egypt, and China in the pursuit of the “teh phat loot.” And it was good. Their second title, the positively awesome looking Dawn of War: Soulstorm, the third expansion for Relic’s popular Warhammer 40k RTS, is set to hit store shelves and digital distribution services on March 5 of this year.

In their closing statement, Iron Lore cites their inability to secure funding for upcoming titles as the reason for their sudden and unexpected closure. It looks like rumormonger Surfer Girl was right. Their in-development title, described as “Titan Quest meets God of War meets Oblivion” won’t see release. I think I speak for every PC gamer on the planet when I say: